Week of March 23, 2009

Monday, March 23rd
Bell Work: What are my environmental responsibilities to society? (3-4 complete sentences)
1. Mini Lesson: “Invasive Species & My Responsibility”
2. Students will watch a video clip from “Alien Ocean” and, write an entry in their writers’ notebook using the prompts “I notice…this makes me think…”
3. Quiet Reading/Writing: Students will read about additional invasive species and complete a questionnaire for each one. This information will be stapled into the notebook.
4. Reflection: Students will write one or more questions they have about invasive species &/or their responsibility to society.
Homework: Answer the question: How do invasive species affect the environment? Your answer should be 4-5 sentences in length and include at 3-4 transitional (pushing our thinking) prompts, such as, “I notice…, this makes me think…, for example…, many people think… but I think…”

Tuesday, March 24th
Bell Work: Invasive Species (define and draw a picture)
1. Mini Lesson: “Invasive Species QAR Scavenger Hunt”
2. Students will complete a scavenger hunt of questions using the “Question Answer Relationship” (QAR) reading strategy.
3. Think-Pair-Share~ Students will generate a list of questions they have about invasive species. (Who, what, when, where, why? What would happen if…? I wonder how…?) They should relate to the following categories: threats to biodiversity (land, air, or water), invasive species, places of origin, or human response.
Homework~ Write a newspaper headline using their personal area of interests. (This will assist with the writing of the thesis statement and newspaper

Wednesday, March 25th
Bell Work: How do we analyze and use mentor texts to gather information for research?
1. Mini Lesson: “Drafting a Thesis Statement”
2. Quiet Writing:
a. Students will review writers’ notebook entries, information gathered, and list of questions generated.
b. They will narrow their focus by choosing the one question or category that interests them most.
c. Then, draft a potential thesis statement about invasive species. This statement will guide the research.
3. Begin researching and writing Lancer Notes on information needed for this paper.
4. Whip-Around: Each student will share one important word or phrase that learned today.

Thursday, March 26th
Bell Work: Plagiarism (define and draw a picture)
1. Students will continue researching (2+ sources per day). They will gather and record information on Lancer Notes sheets. All information must be gathered by Tuesday of next week. So, you should continue researching outside of class.

Friday, March 27th ½ Day AM ONLY for students
Bell Work: Vocabulary “Blurt” game and create a vocabulary flipbook
1. Put the following terms: Research, brainstorm, inquiry, environment, threats to biodiversity, invasive species, investigate, paraphrasing, multi-genre
2. Write the definitions and draw a picture on the inside.
3. If time allows, we will play a vocabulary game using these terms.